Chapter 295: The Greatest Demon of All Time (1)

The face of Baek Wi-hyang, the third strategist of the Murim Alliance, stiffened.

He doubted his ears for a moment.

"The person who severed this head?"

If what the messenger had conveyed was true, then the man standing before him must be none other than the Blood Demon.

"He disguised himself as a messenger?"

His thoughts grew chaotic.

The head of the Blood Cult had disguised himself as a mere messenger and appeared before this massive army.

But if he really was the Blood Demon, then this wasn't the time to be surprised.

Baek Wi-hyang hurriedly let go of his sword.

He tried to leap backward—

–Thud!

"Guh!"

The messenger stomped down on his foot like lightning.

The pain was so intense that it felt like every bone in his toes had been crushed.

"Strategist!"

"What are you doing?!"

"You're no messenger of the Alliance!"

Only now did the leaders of each sect and faction realize something was wrong and began to shout.

But not all of them were just yelling.

A few powerful warriors, including Hyeongsan's First Sword Jo Cheong-un, immediately leapt from their horses and drew their weapons to charge.

However—

–Crunch!

"Urgh!"

They had to stop when the messenger grabbed Strategist Baek Wi-hyang's neck.

If they came even slightly closer, his neck would be snapped.

Peng Sa-yong, the head of the Hebei Peng Clan, saw the severed head of Alliance Leader Jeong Cheon displayed on the ground and shouted:

"You're no mere messenger! Reveal your identity at once!"

The messenger, still clutching Baek Wi-hyang's throat, raised a hand as if to hush them.

With the Alliance Leader dead, Baek Wi-hyang now held the highest authority over the expedition by rank. No one could move rashly.

"Now then, it's quiet."

The messenger smiled faintly at the captured strategist.

That smile sent chills down Baek Wi-hyang's entire body.

Though the man was smiling, his eyes were filled with such killing intent that Baek's legs almost gave out.

'What the hell is he up to?'

He seemed to be the only one who had heard the man's real identity.

He had clearly said, with his own mouth, that he had severed the Alliance Leader's head, yet the other sect leaders hadn't heard it.

It wasn't even a secret voice transmission technique.

'Blood Demon! This guy is the Blood Demon!'

He wanted to scream it out loud right now.

But with his life in danger, he couldn't open his mouth carelessly.

'Damn it.'

The only one who could save himself now was himself.

He had to find a clever way out.

Suppressing his trembling, Baek Wi-hyang barely managed to speak.

"Why don't we talk with your hand off my neck? Even if you're holding me hostage, there are so ma—"

"Shh."

The messenger silenced him before he could finish.

Then he muttered something strange:

"Let me tell you why you must die now, Strategist Baek."

"What? What are you—"

It happened in an instant.

As soon as he locked eyes with the messenger, strange visions appeared before Baek Wi-hyang's eyes.

They seemed to be of himself—through someone else's perspective.

But they were scenes he had never seen before.

'What... is this?'

Countless events flashed before him as if time had fast-forwarded in a blink.

He wanted to break free from this illusion, but he had no control.

Soon, he saw someone pleading desperately.

[Please spare me. I'll live the rest of my life in silence. Killing a third-rate martial artist like me who doesn't even know internal arts is...]

[You read it, didn't you?]

[Huh?]

[You read it. Sword Sage Chronicles. That's another reason you must die.]

It was him in the vision, but he looked so pathetically despicable.

Then the vision, which had been flowing like water, suddenly stopped.

In his field of vision, he saw a pair of eyes—his own eyes—reflecting the face of a man.

A man, battered and scarred from hardship, yet oddly familiar.

He had definitely seen that face before, but couldn't quite place it.

Then, a face flashed through his mind.

'So Woon-hwi?'

Yes—that face reflected in the eyes belonged to Lee Shin-seong, no—Little Sword Sage So Woon-hwi.

Though the man looked more rugged and worn, it was unmistakably him.

Baek Wi-hyang had never experienced anything like this.

If what he had seen was real, then this must have been something So Woon-hwi had experienced—but in a different form.

Then someone appeared before him.

'You!'

It was the messenger—no, the Blood Demon.

He couldn't comprehend what trick the man had used.

'Where is this? Why are you showing me this?'

–I showed you why you have to die.

'Why I have to die? What nonsense is—'

–Crack! Crackle!

'What?'

Suddenly, the Blood Demon's face began to contort.

Then it transformed—into someone else.

Baek Wi-hyang couldn't hide his shock.

The face had become none other than So Woon-hwi.

He was thrown into utter confusion.

'What is this...?'

Why would the Blood Demon take on the appearance of the hero of the orthodox world?

Was this all still an illusion?

Then the Blood Demon, now with So Woon-hwi's face, spoke:

–In the unorthodox world, they call me the Blood Demon. In the orthodox world, they call me the Little Sword Sage.

'!!!'

The moment he heard those words, Baek Wi-hyang wasn't just shocked—he felt a chill down his spine.

If this were true, then the Blood Demon had deceived not just the Murim, but the entire world.

'Impossible. That can't be!'

As he reeled from horror, the Blood Demon—still wearing So Woon-hwi's face—spoke again:

–The current Alliance Leader is dead, and the previous one has fallen from power. It won't be long before the Murim Alliance selects a new leader.

'...!?'

Suddenly, countless images flashed through Baek Wi-hyang's mind.

Scenarios that must never come to pass.

'No! That can't happen...!'

–Snap!

'Guh!'

Then the Blood Demon, in the form of So Woon-hwi, grabbed his throat again.

And smiling, he said:

–All of this is the future you created. With your own hands, you summoned your death and sealed the future of the Murim.

'Guh... Who... are... you...?'

–Back then, I wasn't even worth naming. Just a minor member of the Murim Alliance's Hwangryong Unit... and a spy for the Blood Cult.

'What...'

–Funny, isn't it? That man—me—is now the hero of the orthodox world and the head of the Blood Cult.

'Guh... Guh...'

Something felt wrong.

He was suffocating.

Even though he knew this was an illusion, the tightening grip on his throat felt all too real.

Then he suddenly realized—

He had already been caught by the neck before this illusion started.

"Stop right there!"

"Strategist!"

Voices echoed.

He was back in reality.

Right before his eyes, the messenger still had his neck in a death grip.

His vision blurred as he suffocated.

'I have to speak... this man... he's... the Little Sword Sage... and the Blood Demon....'

He had to say it—but his mouth wouldn't open.

The messenger smiled kindly at him.

"It'd be meaningless to die without knowing, right? Don't you think?"

"Guh... you—!"

–Crack!

In that instant, his neck snapped.

Strategist Baek Wi-hyang's head slumped forward.

His life had ended.

"Aaaaah!"

It was a feeling beyond description.

Before my regression, I had longed countless times for a chance like this before I died.

Baek Wihyang, the military commander who used my goodwill to satisfy his own desires and eventually killed me.

He finally took his last breath by my hand.

I recalled someone once telling me that revenge was empty and meaningless.

But right now, I want to tell that person to shove it.

After killing him, the part of my chest that had always felt clogged suddenly felt open and relieved.

—"You've achieved one of your long-cherished goals."

Yes.

I had wanted this for so long.

Even back then, I could have killed him, but I held back.

But now, I finally had the strength to bear the consequences of killing him.

Once I kill Muryeongsoo, all the grudges from before my regression will be resolved.

—"Shouldn't you take care of this situation first?"

Indeed.

Baek Wihyang's death only shocked them momentarily. One of the martial arts alliance's masters, who had been maintaining distance, charged at me with an overwhelming aura.

Judging by his face, it was Paeng Sayong, the head of the Hebei Paeng Clan.

"You bastard!"

As expected of a peak-level master, the energy he exuded was extraordinary.

His blade technique, slicing through the air like a lightning bolt, must be the supreme move of the Paeng Clan's pride: Honwon Byeokryeok-do (혼원벽력도).

I opened my palm, and Baek Wihyang's sword, which had fallen to the ground, was sucked into my hand.

"You're slow."

I swung the sword toward Paeng Sayong's ultimate technique.

There was no need to use the Blood Sky Great Sword's special moves.

With the difference in skill between us, a mere swing of my sword was enough to match the power of a finishing blow.

—Chaeeeeng!

As soon as sword and blade clashed, Paeng Sayong's face filled with shock.

He must have realized he was completely outmatched in terms of power.

I added force and flung him away.

"Urgh!"

His body flew more than twenty steps backward.

The masters of the Murim Alliance tried to catch him, but instead, they were injured and bounced off due to the internal energy carried by Paeng Sayong's body.

—Papapapang!

"Ugh!"

"Gah!"

"W-What is this!?"

The front lines of the Murim Alliance fell into disarray because of Paeng Sayong.

Dozens collapsed, groaning and unable to rise.

Everyone was visibly stunned.

They had assumed I was someone hiding my true identity, but no one could've imagined that I'd be powerful enough to instantly overwhelm a peak master.

At that moment, a middle-aged man in a navy martial robe stepped forward.

"…As bold as ever, Blood Demon."

He was Jo Cheongun, the top master of the Hyeongsan Sect, known as the Sword of Hyeongsan.

Jo Cheongun was raising his aura sharply.

I had always expected this day would come, but I didn't think it would be today.

His words caused a stir among the Murim Alliance officers and warriors.

"No!"

"The Blood Demon!?"

"He came alone!?"

—Murmur murmur!

They never expected me to appear disguised as a messenger.

Their confusion was only natural.

Jo Cheongun raised his sword and shouted loudly:

"The Blood Demon, enemy of our Alliance, has appeared! Prepare for battle!"

"Prepare for battle!"

Snapped out of their shock, the Alliance's officers echoed the order.

Immediately, all 8,000 warriors of the Murim Alliance drew their weapons and tightened their formation.

As expected from the core force of the Alliance, their momentum was different.

It was incomparable to the power of the regional branches.

—What will you do?

—Kill them all. They are enemies of the Blood Sect.

The Blood Demon Sword urged me to kill them.

That could be one answer, but the presence of factions like the Hyeongsan Sect and Jinju Eon Clan among them gave me pause.

Eon Yeongin of the Jinju Eon Clan was as close as a sister to Yeongyeong, and the Hyeongsan Sect was her martial sect.

If I killed them, Yeongyeong would surely resent me deeply.

—So what now? They're all prepared to fight to the death anyway.

I let out a chuckle.

If they've raised their momentum, then I'll have to break it.

I pulled out the Evil Ghost Mask from my chest and covered my face.

Then I invoked Blood Demon Transformation.

"This can't be…"

"His hair turned blood red!"

"He really is the Blood Demon!"

The martial artists of the Alliance grew increasingly wary of my transformation.

But none dared to move rashly.

They had seen Musangdo Jeong Cheon die by my hand and Paeng Sayong, a peak master, fall with a single blow — no wonder they were tense.

At that moment, Jo Cheongun shouted again:

"Warriors of the Alliance! The Blood Demon has slain our Lord, our strategist, and countless comrades! Their blood cries out in agony from the earth! How can we show fear?!"

"He's right! If we do not kill the Blood Demon here and now, even more of our brethren will die!"

Eon Gwangun, head of the Jinju Eon Clan, added.

They were trying to rally the shaken morale.

But did they really think I'd just stand and watch?

I gathered my inner energy and opened my mouth.

"Hear me, Murim Alliance."

My voice echoed in all directions like a lion's roar.

Because I infused it with internal energy, those with weaker cultivation clutched their ears in pain.

"Gah!"

"W-What is that sound…?"

—Bam!

Sensing the danger in my voice, Jo Cheongun and Eon Gwangun leapt at me simultaneously.

Of all things, why did both attack at the same time? How ironic.

I didn't want to fight them if possible, but since they were leading this force, I had no choice.

—Cha-cha-cha-cha-cha!

The two masters skillfully coordinated their ultimate techniques in a joint attack.

I dodged their swords with only slight movements of my upper body, then slipped into their opening and caught both of their blades with my hands.

—Chaaang!

"What?!"

Both of them gasped as I caught their blades.

They must have thought that attacking me together would even the odds.

"Even Musangdo couldn't withstand more than two moves. What made you think you two could fare any better?"

"What…?"

Their pupils shook at my words.

"Back off."

—Creak! Clang!

I twisted their blades and flung them away.

As the bent swords snapped back to shape, the force embedded in them pushed their bodies over ten steps backward.

—Whooosh!

"Ugh!"

"Argh!"

They clenched their teeth and barely endured the aftermath of my energy.

Truthfully, I could have inflicted serious internal injuries like I did to the head of the Paeng Clan, but I chose to merely push them back.

It was a form of mercy — I let them keep their dignity.

'Senior Jo, I wonder if you'll recognize my gesture.'

Had we not skipped formal ties at Ikyangso, or had you not been Yeongyeong's elder, I wouldn't have held back.

—Shouldn't you be thanking Yeongyeong instead of yourself?

Yeah, you're probably right.

I raised my energy again and shouted:

"From this moment on, I will grant you a chance to live."

At my words, Eon Gwangun shouted:

"Silence! Our Alliance will never negotiate with the Blood Sect…!"

But before he could finish, I stomped the ground hard.

—BOOM!

The ground shattered, and a massive shockwave rippled out.

In an instant, hundreds of warriors at the front of the Alliance rolled their eyes back and collapsed.

—Thud! Thud!

Only those at the master level barely withstood it, but the front line was now completely cleared.

Eon Gwangun swallowed hard and muttered:

"…Th-the Blood Demon Lord's Roar!"